Against public
opinion, Governor Frank Murkowski has signed a bill allowing wolves to be
hunted and killed from airplanes.

The people of
Alaska have twice voted to revoke this “land-and-shoot” wolf killing in
the last seven years, but certain state officials want wolves killed in
order to boost moose and caribou herds for hunters. During a “land and
shoot” slaughter, hunters in planes or helicopters circle and harass a
pack of wolves, and chase them until they exhaust themselves. A hunter
then shoots the wolves from the aircraft, or lands on the ice and shoots
the terrified wolves as they try to escape in deep snow.

According to the
Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s “Harvest Summary,” nearly 7,500
wolves were killed through hunting and trapping in the last five years,
but according to the Summary, "Most of these harvest totals do not include
unreported harvests which may equal or exceed the reported harvest...."

If land-and-shoot
is so offensive to the majority of Alaskan residents, why then, do Alaskan
wildlife officials insist on allowing this cruel practice? In a word;
money. Fish and Game encourages expanded hunting opportunities because
doing so sells more licenses, which in turn pays the salaries of Fish and
Game employees. The Division is always eager to increase the number of
licenses sold and land-and-shoot is just another of their schemes to raise
more revenue for itself. This is the reality of wildlife management as
practiced by the Department of Fish and Game.

Alaska’s wildlife
will always be on the losing end of any fight as long as they are
“managed” by the hunters of the Department of Fish and Game. Asking
hunters to be objective stewards of wildlife is like asking a used car
salesman to be honest about the 1973 clunker sitting on his lot with
25,000 “original” miles on the odometer.

For more
information about the mismanagement of wildlife as perpetuated by state
game agencies, please visit our website at:
www.all-creatures.org/cashor call (845) 256-1400.